Coach students on safety, say experts

Apart from implementing safety norms in school buses, educationists feel that bus attendants and students must be coached on safety standards.

The school bus mowing down Dhruvin Dhaggal is the third such accident this year where students have been hit by their own school buses owing to negligence.

The state government’s school bus policy provides that each bus must have more than one attendant to ensure the safety of students.

"An extra attendant will mean an additional expenditure of around Rs. 30 per student. The schools should also put strict safety conditions on the bus contractors barring which their contracts should be terminated. A combined effort from the school, bus services and parents is required," said Jayant Jain, president, Forum for Fairness in Education, a non-profit.

Anil Garg, president of the School Bus Owners’ Association, said that parents too must share the responsibility of instilling safety among students.

Garg claimed Dhruvin saw his mother across the road and ran to cross the road. "Why is the driver always blamed when the responsibility is a shared one?" asked Garg.

'Bus contract given to another transporter'

Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena leader Santosh Gavas has alleged the bus that mowed down Dhruvin Dhaggal on Thursday, had been subcontracted to another transporter.

"An inquiry should be initiated as to how this was permitted," he said. Kiran Patil, senior police inspector of Kharghar police station, said the police will be investigating the issue.

The police have booked the driver and the cleaner for rash driving and negligence causing death of the child. "The cleaner has been arrested as he should have paid attention to the presence of the child in front of the bus," Patil added.